Most people are probably not aware of what that even means. In the north when the sun shines, it is so bright that we can lose our vision as the sun reflects off the white surface of the snow. But there is also a problem when it is cloudy that the contrast is just right, that it is nearly impossible to see the contours of the snow.
As a result, it is almost impossible to see the road and I've witnessed many people literally venture off into the ditch because they could not see where the road was. We have that same problem in our yard.
Can you see the drive way? Not really eh! The only hint that the road is there would be the gate and the trees. If I cut them out, you would be hard pressed to see the road. That is how tough it is to see where you are going. We need contrast in order to see. Summer provides all kinds of contrast. But when everything is white, it gets really tough. Solution: Spread a little bit of used straw onto the road. Can you see the drive way now?
Wow. I have been under immense pressure after reading your post about scores. I had a very low score and then here again i read in your comments about 15 minutes deadline..i live in the busiest city of my country and we have bad (nuke obsessed) neighbours which = war at any time. One thing i realised after reading you post and scoring as low as 100 was, I have a lot to learn. But you are such a great motivation so hopefully i might get somewhere.
About this post, the area i live in there is no snow at all however your tips on laying wooden chips (For chickens) and stawbales is awesome. i have tried to keep hens many times but was worried about the smell and now i know the solution. Thanks a lot. Keep posting and i will share the idea of straws with my friends in north. Thanks.
I am glad you found a way to motivate yourself rather than get insulted or angry. Bravo for you to have the courage to look within and reflect on it rather than reject with with anger or contempt. That is the sign of a strong spirit and a high willingness to learn. Don't ever loose those qualities! I am grateful that you find value in my posts. Thank you!
Wow excellent idea to spread straw/hay on the road! I'll be passing that along. We have this problem here too and it's a 15-20 minute drive up the mountain, it's even crazier when it's shrouded in fog o.O
I find that bright sun is okay as it casts shadows. But when it is cloudy and dusk / dawn, it is nearly impossible to see. Fog just makes things 10 times worse!
It is a great idea to spread something on the drive in order to see it. If we didn't when we lived in the country in Canada we would have ended up in the river 125 feet below the road!
That is a long way down! Glad to hear that I'm not the only one that does this. <3
Or first year out here, this was a great lesson. We walk 2km to the road, and after a snow or drifting, parts off the trail were open and solid snow. If we ventured of the path, waist deep snow. Its exhausting to walk like that. So much learned. We even lost koda in snowbanks off the trail. He would literally disappear. Now, snow shoes and walking sticks. We have a snow mobile now. Makes it a little easier to pack trails. The dogs mark our driveway...lol
Funny how we learn those lessons the hard way eh! But your daughter knows better, so she will share that with her kids when it is time too! <3
Simple but very effective.
Not usually a problem here in Leeds lol. It snows for a few hours and then all melts before dusk.
It probably sticks around for a few hours too long eh! lol One year we had 7 months of snow. That was a long winter.
7 months?!!!!
I remember me dad telling me that back in the 60s/70s when he was helping to build the M6 motorway (civil engineer) him and mum were staying in 'digs' at a place called 'Shap' and the farmers/community up there stocked up because in those days it was quite common for them to be 'snowed in' for up to 3 months.
3 months is a very short winter for us. About 4-5 years ago we had snow October 1st and it did not melt until end of April. That was a long winter. Typical is snow by end of October and the snow is gone by end of March (5 months). About 30 years ago I remember being able to ride my motorbike for a few days in each month through the winter (November, December, January, February & March). Yes I was crazy back then. But a year like that is rare. We plan for at least 5 months of winter each year.
Blimey, that's some heavy-duty snow. We're very lucky here in the UK by comparison. I regularly watch oppenheimer ranch project news videos and he highlights the continued bombardment to North America & Canada by winter storms. The jet stream seems to have found a new vibe bringing down the relentless polar vortices.
This year has been particularly cold and lots of snow. It has been unusual.
Ahh, yes the dreaded snow blindness! We just had that the other day. We
had gotten about seven inches of snow Sunday and then Monday the sun was out BRIGHT!
Now we're under a winter storm warning (6-10 inches starting tonight until Saturday) so when the sun comes out again we shall be blind again.
We got a lot of snow this year. How about you? It will be a very prosperous spring with all this snow to rejuvenate the forest and land. There is a lot of water waiting to run and do its work to heal and bring life to the land.
We've had about 36 inches so far... not one BIG wollop though... six inches here, four there, another 3 there- but it all adds up
We got well over a foot a few weeks ago and we struggled to dig ourselves out. It took us two days to open up the yard so that we can move around and get chores done! Please remind me again where you are located? My memory is failing me and I don't recall where you are from. Please forgive me.
Michigan- about 100 miles north of the "D". I'm what locals would call a "thumb girl"
Lifelong resident and when I lived a little further north we had horrendous lake effect snow. One time we had 6 inches of snow then the winds picked up dumped another foot of snow. I lived on a gravel road with no outlet road (long forgotten by the county road commission people and plows) and we lived at the top of a hill... well the snow drifts were literally six feet deep and we were snowed in for three days. Even the big orange county truck with its plow got stuck. They had to call a wrecker in to haul it out.
Only way we could get out was by snowmobile. Yeah... don't miss those days too much!
Michigan? Wow. We were in Windsor in August for a wedding. A few months too late to meet up!
Good to know! We hardly ever get any snow here in Tx. When we do, it's crazy how many accidents there are (mainly from people going too fast and being inexperienced on frozen/icy roads), you would think everyone forgot how to drive... Most of the schools/universities and even some businesses will close here the second we have 2-3 inches of snow/sleet and below +25 degrees F temps. Our roads become impassible but only because of accidents. I don't think i've even seen more than 6" of snow on the ground before.
In a morbid way, people up here find entertainment in watching people from the south cope with snow. Here it requires -35C before the buses are canceled for school, but the school remains open for town kids to attend. The road plows are out as soon as it starts to snow, so people still travel despite the conditions. But there are times where reports come in where travel is not recommended. In those cases, the snow is coming down so fast that the plows cannot keep up. But we have to admit that the transition from summer to winter is equally as fatal as the first snow fall usually ends up with hundreds of accidents in the city. Living out in the country is much safer in my opinion. :)
@wwf, u made me think, it was so funny when I moved to the country & lived in the woods, had one neighbor in a camper, you could only see in winter w/o leaves. I was there for a few years, and my family was SO worried about me being "in the middle of nowhere," when in reality it is a million times safer than city living! Nobody burglarized my home, vandalized my car (a few xs), nobody hassled me, and my pets were free to go outdoors with no chance of being hit/killed/maimed by a car. Much less constant city driving! I did have to commute to work. True, no one could hear you scream lol, but that's quite all right when nothing happens.
Yup. I agree! :) We found the same experience here as well. Cities are not safe places to live. I've also argued for YEARS that if all hell breaks loose, the city would only have three days of food. The military contingency plans call for locking down the city in 15 minutes and going in afterwards with body bags. It will not be pretty!
Your life must be very challenging and you'll be learning a new technique to counter every problem every day. Bravo!!!
Once I'd been to northern areas in my country and at that time I really wanted to enjoy the snow there but right after 3 days, I realized that surviving here is more difficult as compared to my hometown and I rushed back to home.😆
lol. Yes, where we live is not for everyone. I love this area and we do fine here. But it also provides us with a sense of security too. Should anything happen, people won't be moving north where life is harder, they will head south or to the coast. So we actually chose this location considering human migration during a catastrophe, whether it be natural or man made.
Off course we are not living in that sphere of world where it snows a lot that is why i did not know this very useful technique; spread the straws. Wonderful usage of straws to minimize the blindness create due to heavy snow. I do believe straws actually produced certain friction so that running & walking can be made possible. In some of your previous blogs i saw this usage as well where you put all these straws under the Hens to provide them warmth.
This is indeed a perfect usage of these straws to ensure the safety ;)
Wood ash works very well for putting down on ice to prevent slipping as well. The straw bedding helps absorb some of the moisture from the hens but most importantly, the carbon in the straw absorbs that ammonia that comes from their manure. If the chicken barn smells, there is not enough carbon!
Yes, we just cleaned out both coops and replaced the wood chips with clean hay. The hens were in there scratching around immediately. 😀 We rebuilt our coops this year to allow them a small snow free area to roam around in. They were built like little lean-to's attached to our large parking structure, which is going to be converted to a greenhouse next year. Unfortunately, we hadn't taken into account the amount of snow that slides off the roof and into their pens so the roof will have to be redesigned, but that's ok. All that shovelling made for a lesson we won't soon forget! When designing a structure, in any season, keep all 4 seasons in mind!
Our place is still covered in a good 1-2 feet of snow, but our road is a muddy potholed mess. It's not county maintained and there are few of us neighbors that work to maintain it, so I actually prefer driving in the snow as at least it is a smooth ride then.
Good advice there my friend. I agree with snow travel. I prefer it over pot holes on gravel roads. The only exception is when it snows before it is cleared off the road. Traffic on fresh snow is nice and smooth if you are the first one. But after 10 or 15 it gets really rough!
My Uncle has many pets including Hens and i do believe this idea is going to help him a lot, Thanks Rob :)
You are welcome. If he has chicks, then don't use straw, but instead use wood chips. The chicks lungs get plugged up with the dust from the straw and die. The older hens are okay with the dust.
Oh i see this is the case, sure i will let him know all the details Rob :-)
No snow in my country... never touched it... I would love to go to a snowy place one day, to at least experience the texture of it.
Sounds like a trip for a visit is in order. :)
I know what you are saying. I am in the south in the US so we don't typically get clobbered. We have been having colder weather and more snow that what I am accustomed to, but still nothing like what you get or your temps. But, I experience snow blindness no matter the depth when the sun is going down or has gone down. It is actually in my case the loss of sunlight and the coming on of the street lights that creates blindness for me.
Indeed. Dawn and dusk are dangerous here too as that is when the moose and deer like to move, but when we cannot see at all. Lots of animals are killed and people get hurt because of that time of day.
here in african we long to have snow, but unfortunately, its impossible. lol
wish i could experience that
nice and enlightening post
Lots of snow north, south and up from you! :) I dream that one day people can travel to experience the beauty of this planet without the restrictions or risks associated with boarders, etc.
Your problem solving techniques are pretty amazing. Its a wonderful solution you have provided for the people living closer to north pole like you. The problem lies where you would find such a large quantity of used straw to be used on snowy road? A lot of energy and resources are required to fill that up!
We have lots from the goats and chickens. It does not take that much actually. Also, we do live north, but no where near the north pole. lol We live on the 54th parallel, which is about in line with England and way south of the arctic circle! ;)
Lol... I loved it, thanks man.
upvote and resteemit done